CPNE: Team Champagne
by PriestessAmy
Summary: A new team is going to be joining Beacon following the chaotic ending to the Vytal Festival. Transfer students Penny and Ciel will be working alongside former villains Neopolitan and Emerald to form Team Champagne. They don't hate each other, so that's a start. This story is a sequel/spin-off from PRSM.
1. My Permanent Accessory

Ciel looked about the safehouse that Neopolitan had managed to keep hidden from the police when all of Roman's stuff was seized. The place looked like a literary minefield, books and papers strewn everywhere. As it turned out, when you joined a new school halfway through the year, you had a lot to make up for. She and Penny at least had the benefit of time spent at Atlas where things moved at a more brutal pace. The real problem was keeping Emerald and Neo in line and studying.

It was an impossible task.

"I can't anymore. I need a drink." Emerald stood up and went toward a nearby bar while Neo gasped excitedly, pushing her book away and making grabby-hands.

Ciel huffed and closed her own book a little harder than she meant to. "You can't stop now! And what do you mean, a drink?" She knew her order of offense said more about her than she liked to admit. But too late now.

Emerald showed a surprising level of skill with the bottles and glasses, and she couldn't help but admit that it was quite the interesting show. "Look, you can only cram so much stuff into your brain at one time. That's like... science. Plus, Neo and I are students under duress. As long as we continue to pass, we're fine! At the end of the day, we can take down Grimm without breaking a sweat. Everything after that is just details."

Penny looked at her with a helpless shrug. "She is... not entirely wrong. The human mind learns much better over a long period of time. Attempting to push an entire semester's worth of knowledge into your brain over the course of only a few weeks is a monumental task." Her face fell slightly as a new thought occurred to her. "I am afraid I cannot join you in drinking though. Alcohol has no effect on me."

The temporary bartender looked at her in surprise, but Emerald eventually shrugged with a good-natured smile. "Well I can still make you something tasty. You've got taste receptors or whatever, right? I've seen you destroy entire bowls of noodles."

"Ooh! Yes, something fruity would be most appreciated."

Ciel knew when she was in the minority, so she set her book aside and let herself get a little more relaxed in her seat. "Oh fine. If a glass of whiskey should happen to find its way in my hand, I wouldn't say no."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her in surprise. Emerald was mid-shake, her eyebrows now up practically past the top of her head. "Are you... serious?"

Somehow she should have known this would cause everyone to freak out a little. "I'm sure most people assume my parents are just like me – strict and uptight and boring. But uh... my parents are actually very laid-back, practically hippies. They let me start drinking a few years ago. I already have a respectable tolerance."

Finally Emerald shrugged and went back to shaking the drink she was working on. "You're the boss, captain." Emerald was the type to use a lot of epithets and nicknames, and since Ciel was ostensibly in charge, that was a common one for her to use.

"Okay so if you're parents are like that, then why are you... like this?" Neo asked, adding in a vague gesture at Ciel's entire body. The question was a fair one, and to some extent, Ciel didn't have a great answer. She also knew that the other girls all had rather strained relationships (or no relationship at all) with their parents, so she wanted to step lightly on this topic.

"Some children try to emulate their parents. Others try to break away from them. I love mine, but they can be messy and unorganized, and constantly late. So I became obsessed with order and punctuality – which I suppose explains my semblance." Perhaps unsurprisingly, Emerald actually did bring her the drink she didn't exactly request and passed it to her with a little amused smirk. Ciel took it and sipped it slowly, noting immediately that whatever they had in their stock was quality.

Penny tasted her own drink and cooed happily. "This is very delicious, Emerald. It is a shame I am incapable of becoming inebriated. I... suppose I could attempt to shut down some of my systems to mimic the effects?"

"Do it! Do it do it do it!" Emerald began chanting, she and Neo clapping excitedly. Ciel tried to look at her seriously and shake her head – she was, after all, still her caretaker as well as her partner. But eagerness won out in the end. Penny closed her eyes and for a moment nothing seemed to be happening. But then she opened them again and began to giggle.

"Oh dear... Oh my, I do not know what I expected. Oh..." Almost instantly Penny shifted over and was snuggling up against Ciel like a needy puppy. She laughed gently and reached up to pet her head, which seemed to help. "I b'lieve I un'erstand the appeal now..."

"Hm. Would that I could just will myself in and out of drunkenness. That seems incredibly useful. Alas, I am trapped in the analog method," Ciel sighed wistfully.

She was not normally one to give up on work, but something about their new partners made life feel less stressful. The drinks didn't hurt either. Starting tomorrow, they would be living in the dorms, and so Neopolitan was of the mindset that they might as well demolish as much as they could before leaving the safehouse to rot. The more they drank, the friendlier everything became, as was the usual way with alcohol. At some point, Neopolitan had stolen her beret, though Ciel didn't mind too much.

"Alright Sunny..." Emerald said with a slightly sultry tinge to her voice, obviously ready to launch into a new discussion. "Spill. Whassit like? Bangin' a robit. An android. A whatever."

"We-! I-!" The sudden nickname didn't help, but the question by itself was shocking enough. "Haven't..." _Yes, Ciel, very succinct, well said, there's no way this can go poorly._

"Oh my god that's so cute. That's so damn cute. I can't stand it." At least that's what Ciel was able to understand from Neo. Her hand movements were 'slurred' for lack of any better word, and trying to do text-to-speech was a nightmare waiting to happen.

"Hey! I will have you know that I am... prop'rly adorned. My father... er... maker? The... scientists. They wanted me to be super human. When it happens, it will be... magical!" Ciel wanted to be angry at Penny for spilling so much in just a few statements. But her cuteness had a way of counteracting the grumpiness.

"Penny's dad is a peeerrrvvvvv..." Emerald chuckled and awkwardly got up to her feet to fix another round of drinks, which was probably a terrible idea.

"Nooo... Doctor Gepetto, he's not my dad... They did'n wan' me to get too close to them. I am not even supposed to call the lab my home. Very important."

"Yeah well, you weren't supposed to get close to Sunny there, and see what happened when you did it anyway? Adorable nerd-bomber girlfriend with time powers. Breaking the rules has its perks. We should know." Emerald was slowly losing her volume control as she called out across the living room area from the bar, shaking up another couple drinks. Ciel had since given up on being fancy and allowed her teammate to just make whatever she felt like. She wasn't bad at mixing.

"Not to mention bagging local legend Ruby Rose, if rumors are to be believed," Neo added with even sloppier hand gestures.

"And I've seen Ciel making suggestive eyes at Mrs. and Mrs. Checkmate." Emerald snickered.

The other two turned a deep red and shared a nervous look and an equally nervous smile. "Well... I suppose we were both a little enchanted by Team RWBY's... situation. It has a kind of freeing siren song..."

"Oh no, she gets poetic when she's drunk," mused Emerald as she stared Ciel down for a moment. "Well, as long as you're not thinking of putting us in your crosshairs next, I think we'll be just fine. I get jealous easy."

Ciel could see Penny pouting, looking like she was about to say something. So she clamped a hand over her mouth and stood her up with a nervous laugh. "Okay! Well! Time for bed!" She hurried to rush up to the spare bedroom that she and Penny had been sharing for the last week or so. They technically still had a room at Beacon, but when it became clear that they would need to get used to rooming with Neo and Em, the two offered them a space here instead. Even if the brownstone was kind of worn down and messy, it did have a strange homey feel to it.

She and Penny had what few things they'd brought with them, and the rest of their things were being sent from Atlas to Beacon and would arrive the next day when they moved in. They got changed into their pajamas and crawled under the covers together. For a while they just lay there in comfortable silence when suddenly Penny shifted closer and started to wrap around her tighter. "...sh'ld we have sex?"

Ciel's face felt like it was a million degrees and she was strangely terrified to look at her partner. "Penny! R-Right now?"

"I was contemplating what the others said. And it occurs to me that this might be our last night with some private time. But I suppose I was also asking in the more long-term, hypothetical sense, as to whether that is something you might like."

Ciel gave a soft sigh of something resembling relief. She should have known Penny was just missing a social detail. It happened on occasion. But the question still gave her a sense of anxiety that she hadn't really been expecting. She finally turned over so she could face her, curling in against her android girlfriend. "N-Not right now. But... maybe someday?" She paused a moment or two to gather her thoughts and she could see that Penny was concentrating on regaining her faculties, essentially losing her inebriated state. If only humans could be so lucky. "I grew up in Atlas, though my parents and extended family are originally from Vacuo. I was a brown girl in a country mostly occupied by pale people who looked at me with a mix of curiosity and veiled contempt. Add to that my tendency to intellectualize everything, and I never really learned to... appreciate myself. My body has always felt foreign to me. I'm not exactly comfortable with... intimacy."

Penny nodded seriously and hugged her in a little closer, playing with her hair. "I am... a thing. I was created in a lab to mimic a human. All the things that make me appear like one of you? They are synthetic. But... I can still taste food. I can feel how warm you are. I can sense... affection. I have an aura!" She looked into Ciel's eyes, and it really was clear for a split second that humanity didn't exist just in the organic. "But it took time to get there, and patience. And, let us remember, your help. So... if it takes a while, I will understand completely."

Ciel shifted and planted a gentle kiss on Penny's lips, amazed as always at just how perfect they felt. "I... truly care for you, Penny Polendina. And I'm sure with your help, someday, I'll feel perfectly safe around you. I look forward to it." She had meant to use the word 'love' but for some reason it still felt like too much too soon.

Penny didn't seem to mind so much. She claimed another kiss for herself with a tiny giggle. "I look forward to it as well, Ciel Soleil."


	2. Fading Memories

"I feel as though I've been lied to..." Emerald said with a dejected sigh as she glanced around her new dorm room. Between spending time in the guest dorms and then crashing with Neo at that swanky pad, perhaps her standards had been raised a bit. But this was the most bare-bones thing she'd ever seen. Empty walls and plain style, not to mention just how much real estate was taken up by four beds and four desks.

At least, for once, all four of them seemed to be in pretty hearty agreement. "Yes, it is rather... unimpressive." Ciel walked up to one of the beds and crouched down to investigate it closer, a small smile creeping over her lips. "Well, I might have a few ideas. If you'll forgive me for assuming, we really only need two beds, yes?"

"How dare you. I was thinking we might just need one bed. I'm insulted." Emerald knew she had a way of pushing her luck, but she couldn't always help herself around these two. Their reactions were priceless, but even Neo looked a little shocked. "Oh jeez, calm down. Just having a bit of fun. Anyway, what's this grand plan of yours, brainiac? We can't just lug these bad boys out of the room, and as much fun as it would be, I don't think they'd like us hucking them out the window."

"I highly doubt Ciel's plan was to 'huck' anything out a window, Emerald." Penny joined her in inspecting the beds, obviously just as curious about whatever the real plan was.

"For any academy this size, the beds have to be pre-fab. You can take them apart into their component boards with a simple set of tools. And I..." She got up and went over to the pile of boxes bearing her name and began rooting through them until she hauled out a rather massive case bearing the Atlas seal on it. "I just got a shiny new toolkit to help with easy repairs for Penny! I can have these broken down in no time at all."

Neopolitan gave Penny a tap on the shoulder, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Well, while she's working on that, hows about the three of us go raid the old safehouse for some decorations and things. Penny, think you can haul that big cozy sofa?" This plan was still pretty crazy, but even Neo was getting on board now, so there wasn't exactly much Emerald could do about it.

Penny nodded excitedly and gave a decisive clap. "Naturally! My servos are quite capable!"

So that was how they spent the next few hours – heading to and fro with piles of random odds and ends, a couch, a large holo-television. Everyone figured that as long as the safehouse was going to eventually be discovered, they might as well strip it for everything they could. As promised, robo-Penny was crazy-strong and able to lift and carry all the more cumbersome objects without even straining. Emerald was really starting to appreciate the possibilities, having an android on Team CPNE. While they were out, Ciel had indeed managed to break down two of their beds and had shoved all the spare boards into one of the closets. As an afterthought she had also doubled up the mattresses on the two beds, which promised to be insanely comfortable. They put a happy little chill pad in one corner with the TV and couch, and the wall was plastered with posters and stolen 'warning' signs. It was an eclectic mix, and yet undeniably their room.

They were all admiring the improved space when a knock on the door drew their attention. Emerald popped open the door and was a little surprised to see Winter Schnee standing there on the other side of the door. "Hello girls. Do you mind if I come in?"

A bit bewildered, Emerald stepped aside and the woman came in, casting a glance around the space with a small nod. "Hmm, well, seems you've made yourselves at home. Though... did they mess up and only give you two beds? I'll have to contact housing and make sure they fix that."

Ciel coughed nervously, adjusting one of her gloves idly, trying to be as casual as possible. "Oh, uh... that was actually us, Ms. Schnee."

She gave an exasperated sigh, gripping the bridge of her nose for a few moments. "As a representative of both the Atlesian military and the scientists' R&D division, I really ought to tell you girls that it's unwise to pull this kind of thing on your first day. But..."

"Kinda hard to be too judgmental when you're shacking up with the headmistress," Neopolitan signed while snickering. Emerald began laughing with her, though Ciel and Penny looked a bit shocked.

It wasn't until Em looked in the woman's direction that she saw the way she glared at them and knew that, once again, Neo's big fat hands had gotten them in trouble. "I'm going to ignore that. I suggest that the two of you remember that you're here as part of a punishment and rehabilitation program. You may have experienced a degree of cavalier freedom in your previous lives, but if you can't show yourselves to be model students, you'll be placed in jail alongside your old friends."

Emerald crossed her arms and stared Winter down. "So did you come by just to judge our aesthetic choices, or was there something you needed?"

"Since I'm already staying in Vale without much else in the way of things to do, I've been brought in to Beacon as an adjunct professor, as well as your advisor, to make sure you're all adjusting to the school. This place is a fair stretch different than Atlas, and frankly even I am going to need some time to get used to it. I'm... sorry for getting off on the wrong foot here." She managed a smile that was actually pretty charming. "Please come stop by my office once you have your schedules. I'll need to set meeting times with all of you. Now, I should go check up on my sister and yell at her too."

The fact that she actually used a joke got everyone to laugh good-naturedly and they waved goodbye to Winter as she headed down the hall. Emerald gently shut the door and looked at the others, shaking her head in disbelief. "It's going to be a very strange year, isn't it?"

* * *

Ciel and Penny were early risers. Because of course they were. Neither Emerald nor Neopolitan were quite so lucky. Only Penny's incessant cheer was able to rouse them – not because of its stunning positivity but because it had a way of grating on one's nerves when they weren't eager to get out from under the covers.

As expected, waking up sucked, and the uniforms sucked, and having to walk all over the campus sucked, and basically Emerald was in kind of a grumpy mood. At least the free food in the cafeteria wasn't bad, and she found a spot to sit with Coco and her crew while Penny and Ciel went to join their crushes in Team RWBY. She knew she couldn't rag on them too hard, since even Neo had admitted drunkenly the other night that she wouldn't mind a chance to 'climb Yang like a tree'. It wasn't as if she didn't understand why.

"Well well, if it isn't the wayward children. How's student life at Beacon so far?" Coco did her usual thing, peering at the two of them over the top rim of her sunglasses with a little smirk.

Emerald grumbled as she took a long draw from her coffee mug while Neopolitan made some vague hand signals that did not in any way correlate to actual words. This caused all of Team CFVY to bust out laughing. Emerald shoved a large mound of eggs into her mouth and chewed her way through it for a few moments. "It has its upsides. Not sure I'm looking forward to classes..."

"Which are like... most of your first year. But hey, if you survive to your second, you get to go out on Grimm-hunting expeditions and stuff. And you've got a great team backing you," chimed in the rabbit-eared one. Emerald hadn't actually met Velvet before. She was a quiet girl with a weird accent, but she didn't seem too bad.

"Team Mindfuck" Neopolitan added, bumping fists with Emerald as the two chuckled while everyone else looked on in mild confusion.

"Sorry, inside joke."

"Aaaanyway..." Fox mused, attempting to slip past that minor awkward moment. "What's your class schedule looking like?"

Emerald fumbled for her scroll in between bites of bacon. "Oh, yeah, uh... Grimm Biology with Port... History of The Hunt with Oobleck... and something Professor Schnee is calling Tactics and Semblances. Not entirely sure what that is. Or... why that class meets up on Vytal in the coliseum."

"Well, we can grill her on it when we pop in to her office later," Neo reminded her and she nodded with a little shrug.

They continued to eat amid cheerful conversation, and every now and then Emerald could feel herself really getting swept away by this place. To think that, not so long ago, she was cursing all these people for how nice and good they were, and now she was practically one of them. Weird how quickly things could change. But it was just like she'd been saying, being here provided her with a home and a kind of family, food and something productive to do with herself. If all of this panned out, she could be a huntress and basically spend the rest of her life taking down Grimm and being a badass. There were worse ways to live.

* * *

After this morning's rather disastrous meeting with Professor Schnee, it was incredibly fulfilling to accidentally walk in on her and Goodwitch mid-kiss. Both women immediately separated from one another, looking like they might die from embarrassment. It was, if Emerald was being honest, delicious revenge. _Judge us for sharing beds, will you._

Goodwitch rushed out of the office, giving the team a curt nod, red-faced and tight-lipped. All four of them wisely chose to say nothing at all until Schnee had composed herself and leaned up against the edge of her desk. "Ah, so, uh... how are you girls doing? How were your first few classes?"

"Wonderful! I think it took me some time to adjust to Dr. Oobleck's... um... speed? But after a time it felt normal." Penny was cheerful as per usual. Ciel nodded enthusiastically. And neither Emerald nor Neo wanted to beat down that positivity so they just shrugged noncommittally.

"Thank you for stopping by. I actually had a quick request to make of you all. Today will be my first time leading or teaching a class, and... I do not like being inadequate. And that requires honest feedback. Emerald and Neopolitan, I know that you in particular are not afraid to hold back if there is something I'm doing wrong. If I'm to be a teacher here at Beacon, the least I can do is make sure I'm properly engaging."

The four of them all shared a quick look before turning back toward Winter in mild surprise. This was rather unexpected. Em cleared her throat and attempted to dig in a little deeper. "I mean, you want it you got it. But why so worried? You already have the professor aesthetic down okay."

She sighed and crossed her arms, staring down at the floor. "I'm attempting to combine the teaching style I received at Atlas with the more impulsive style that is so prevalent here at Beacon. It's not going to be an easy task. Also, unlike most of the other courses here, mine is intended to be almost exclusively focused on combat and training of various kinds." She cleared her throat again, trying to bore a hole in the carpet with her eyes. "And... it would just be... nice. To... To have a reason to stay in Vale a while longer. Ah, for Weiss."

God, you could just feel your heart breaking into a million little pieces. It would have been so easy to point out what Winter's clear intentions were. But Emerald kept herself in check and just offered a cocky smile. "You got it teach. I'll make you wish you never asked me for an honest assessment."


	3. If It's Not In Me

Penny wasn't really looking forward to Professor Schnee's class. While the title of it certainly sounded fascinating in theory, the truth of the matter was that she still didn't have a semblance of her own. She liked combat and tactics, but what was she supposed to do if she wasn't even able to conjure a power on the spot?

Amity Colosseum felt like such a strange place when there was no audience or decorations. Now it was little more than just a wide-open plane for everyone to stand on. At Professor Schnee's insistence, everyone had changed into their combat attire, and despite being a class about fighting, they were all weaponless. Everyone stood around chatting idly until Winter arrived, clearing her throat to catch their attention. "Hello everyone. Thank you for joining me here. It's an honor to work with such a fine group of hunters in training. This class is going to be focused on training you to be more efficient in combat – working on your skills with weapons, semblances, forming battle plans, and more. My first goal is making sure that everyone feels comfortable with their abilities. Your semblance is a part of you, and you can't reliably depend on it if you're wasting all your energy summoning it once or twice. It should feel as natural as swinging a sword or dodging an attack. Everyone pair up with a student from a different team and engage each other in hand-to-hand combat, focusing on using your semblance – while simultaneously studying your opponent to find their strengths and weaknesses."

Everyone began pairing up, but Penny couldn't shake her nerves. She approached Winter cautiously and gave her best smile. "Um, Professor? Should I sit this portion of the class out? I could go cheer on the rest of my team, perhaps."

Winter shook her head and matched her with an equally warm smile. "There's no need, Penny. You'll be working with me. Ciel? Go form a triplet with two other students." Her partner nodded and went off to join Ruby and Pyrrha, leaving the two of them alone now. "I have been properly filled in by the scientists at Atlas. According to them, the idea that you have both an aura and a semblance is plausible but unlikely. I am now dedicated to proving them wrong, so today we're going to have a friendly fight with the assumption that you most definitely do have one."

With little warning, Winter assumed a combat stance. Penny squeaked and hurried to take one of her own. She was not nearly so certain as her instructor. "But... what if they are right?"

The older woman shrugged and leapt in for a series of blows while Penny deflected them skillfully. "What if the engine holding Vytal in the sky should break, and we all plummet into the city below? What if Cinder should suddenly return and threaten to kill us all? What if Grimm should swarm the city again? If you wade into the 'what ifs' you might get caught up and carried out to sea. Stay in the here and now. And don't worry about going easy on me..." she said before launching a flurry of kicks in Penny's direction, then putting some distance between the two of them with a glyph. Just as fluidly, she backflipped onto another glyph, and Penny could tell that her teacher was coming in for a hard hit.

What happened next was hard for Penny to really describe, as several things occurred in quick succession. She felt a tugging at her fingertips, which was a sensation normally reserved for when she drew her swords. But rather than her back, the tiny threads were extending out toward the series of glyphs that Winter was summoning. Penny instinctually twitched a finger and suddenly the glowing circle turned a shade of green. She knew without knowing that it was no longer Professor Schnee's. That glyph belonged to her. Intuitively, she ramped up its power output and watched with great fascination as Winter's foot hit the mark and immediately launched her much farther forward than she had expected. Penny gave another tug, putting the glyph in her path and dropping its power into the negative, effectively reversing the professor's acceleration and sending her head over heels.

Winter only barely managed to flip herself around to land on her feet. But the change in velocity had been enough to make her slide back several more feet, kicking up a huge cloud of dust. Most everyone in the class had turned to see what could make the flawless Ice Queen lose her composure for even a second. She stood and brushed herself off, looking around at all of them with a huff. "Back to practicing!" She walked over to Penny, staring her up and down in silence. "My glyphs are never sloppy. What did you do?"

Penny took a few steps back, uncertain if Winter's face was displaying pride or anger. "I-I do not know! My body just... responded! Like it already knew what to do! I did not hurt you, did I?"

Winter seemed to suddenly remember that she could be overly militaristic, and her face softened slightly. "Why don't we try that again? Whatever your power might be, it may require a... more gentle touch to avoid causing serious injury. Do not worry about me, I can handle myself."

So they started over. It was difficult for Penny at first, reminding her of the way it felt when she first started using her swords. She would drop them, or get tangled up in her own threads. It took time and patience to learn how to swing them around herself or to form her laser barrage attack. She knew this would take time too, and having proper support made her feel a lot better. But hijacking Winter's glyphs wasn't always a perfect process. Sometimes she would intend to make one dissipate and instead she would merely reposition it. At one point, she accidentally caused one to rotate ninety degrees, launching Professor Schnee off to the side with a shocked look on her face. It had technically been a successful move, just not the one she wanted.

Despite the warning they'd received to get back to work, soon the others all gathered around to watch the fight as it played out over and over again through each new iteration. Penny swelled with pride to hear them cheer for her as she altered another panel to shoot Winter up into the air instead of straight at her, then conjured one of her own instead of merely stealing it, to shoot her back to the ground. She had managed to land safely, but she was starting to look winded. "Hah... Very good, Ms. Polendina. Now the tricky part begins. Your semblance is directly tied to the semblance of others. It will take a great deal of trial and error to see what you can and cannot do. Ruby Rose?"

Ruby stepped forward with a hand raised. "Here, Ma'am."

"I believe there may be benefits to Penny's semblance as well. Penny, you are going to help Ruby move faster and more accurately. Does that sound like something you might be able to do?"

Penny bounced excitedly. "I'll do my best!"

She waited patiently as Ruby steadied herself, and then disappeared in a cloud of leaves. For some reason, the incident with Cinder and the Maiden had altered her semblance slightly, adding fall leaves to her rose petal streak. As she zipped around the gathered crowd in a circle, Penny concentrated on her friend, feeling that little spark of hope when Ruby's whirling cape suddenly began dropping bright, green leaves and cherry blossoms instead. With a cry of delight, the young huntress became even more of a blur as her path continued to circle up high over everyone's heads until she peaked directly above them in a large burst of leaves and petals, falling back down and right into Penny's arms with a bright giggle. "That was amazing! I was like... pshoom nyoom nyoowwww! You're so cool, Penny!" She set her down only for Ruby to pull her into an incredibly tight hug.

As much as Professor Schnee was intent on keeping class time focused on more useful lessons, things eventually devolved into all of Penny's friends eagerly calling out "Me next! Me next!" and begging her to try augmenting or diminishing their semblances. She used one of Blake's stone doubles to trip her up. She reversed Pyrrha's polarity to give herself added momentum for an attack. Emerald could create much more intense illusions without feeling like her head was going to explode. Neopolitan's illusory creations became much more solid and did not immediately shatter. Ciel could stop someone almost entirely rather than merely slowing them down. Marigold's forcefield was almost invincible, even in the face of a mighty blow from Nora's hammer.

It may not have been the most perfect classtime for their teacher, but it was exactly what Penny needed.

* * *

Penny's positivity didn't last forever, though. In light of her success and also to act as a formal welcome to team CPNE, everyone pitched in to throw a pizza party in the common room. It was really fun for a while, but something kept eating at the android. It was hard to think properly, much less to actually enjoy herself.

So Penny disappeared and ended up finding herself on the roof. Unsure exactly why, she sat down at the edge and stared up at the stars above, hoping she might find a moment's peace or an answer to why she didn't feel as excited a she should have. The silence helped, but it came without answers.

The door behind her opened, someone approaching her where she sat. Penny wasn't certain who she had expected, but it definitely wasn't MRPN captain Marigold. She smiled weakly and nodded her head.

"Do you mind if join you? I always get a little worn out at parties, even small ones."

Penny nodded again, making some space for her on the ledge. "Please, be my guest."

Rather than saying anything, Marigold simply sat there with her and the two of them shared the beautiful silence of the night together for a while. It was nearly three minutes before her temporary companion spoke. "I've always been pretty self-conscious of my semblance. It's super inconsistent and I can only ever make it work when I'm in serious trouble. Today was the first time I ever felt like I had a handle on it. Because of you. I felt powerful, really powerful. And I wanted to thank you for that."

Penny brightened up a little to know that she'd actually helped someone, especially by using her semblance. "It was my pleasure! I greatly enjoy having a semblance that can be so useful for so many people. Is that why you came to find me?"

"Actually... You seemed kinda down, and then just disappeared... Is everything okay?"

Penny searched for words that might make sense of her feelings. "Marigold, do you ever feel... less-than?"

Her brow furrowed slightly and she stared at Penny, deep in concentration. "Well of course. I mean, that's pretty common for girls like me."

"Like you? Why you specifically?"

A series of other emotions washed over Marigold's face that Penny did not know how to interpret. The only one that seemed familiar was a kind of dawning realization at the end. "Of course, you probably never heard... When I came to Beacon, my name was Jaune. And as far as everyone was concerned, I was a boy. But I knew that wasn't right, and so I... stopped being a boy. And now I have medication and new clothes and I'm growing out my hair. And most of my friends are happy for me. But other people will never be alright with me. If I were to be 99% girl, they would think that remaining one percent I haven't changed still makes me a boy – my broad shoulders or my voice or whatever. It's not always easy, but I have to remind myself that those people don't matter. What matters is me, and my happiness, and my friends." She chuckled and leaned over to nudge into her. "Sorry, I hope some of that rambling did the trick."

It had hardly even occurred to Penny that Marigold might have been transgender, but then her experiences in life were so limited sometimes. It changed little. And that realization brought back a memory from months before. "I remember telling Ruby once that I was not a real girl. And she was so very nice and understanding. And she told me that I actually was, simply by virtue of who I am. I suppose she must have told you the same." The two shared a laugh in honor of their enthusiastic friend. "Still, my position is not exactly like yours. I am attempting to reconcile the possibility that I am a 'real girl' but still an android at the same time."

"I still have a lot to learn, but Ren knows way more about this kinda stuff. Sometimes, people aren't male or female. They're something else entirely. And if that can be said about anyone... Well, Penny, you're definitely something else. You're special. And pretty cool. So maybe it's okay if you don't know. Perhaps just being amazing can be good enough for now?"

Penny latched onto Marigold suddenly, squeezing her in a vice hug. "Thank you, Marigold Arc. I suppose this makes us even."


	4. If I Hold My Tongue

Neopolitan sat on her bed and looked over her battle costume, sighing sadly. Emerald glanced over at her, head canting to the side. "Hey Neo, what's the matter?"

She looked up from her outfit, pouting perhaps just a bit too over-dramatically. "Between everything with Cinder, and Schnee's class the other day, my clothes have taken some serious damage. I want to get them fixed up, but I don't have nearly enough lien to make it happen."

To her surprise, Ciel perked up with a bright smile. "I can help you! I'm quite skilled at sewing. Hmmmm, but I don't really have any appropriate supplies with me. Now that the CCT is operational again, I've been meaning to go into town to contact my parents. Would you like to come with me? While we're out, we could purchase what we need to get your combat gear back in shape."

On the one hand, getting her precious clothing back in respectable condition was important to Neopolitan. But she wasn't sure if taking a trip into the city with Ciel was the most enticing proposition. She had shown herself to be competent and occasionally interesting. Hell, she'd even been willing to get drunk with them. And she wasn't half bad as a captain either. But as a person, they were so different, Neopolitan wasn't sure they could actually get along, especially when it was just the two of them.

But... she needed her clothes fixed. It was of the utmost importance. "Yeah, okay. I'm craving some food that isn't mass-produced in a cafeteria anyway." She glanced over at Emerald who was currently giving her A Look. Neo just shrugged with a cheeky smile as she and Ciel left the dorm and made their way out of the school. "So... You know about sewing and junk?"

"Mmm, when your parents are hippies, you spend a lot of time doing things in a more old-fashioned way. Either because it's green, or because capitalism is the devil, or just to stick it to The Man. Mom helped me make my outfit from whatever simple fabrics we could find, stitching it together with an old-fashioned foot pedal sewing machine. So I suppose I would just like to say that I understand wanting to keep your clothing in good condition. Mine is a reminder of how much my parents support me even when they don't understand me."

Neo moved with her away from the school and along the path into the city in contemplation for a moment. It was weird not only to have Ciel reveal a part of herself, but to find herself feeling a connection to her. "It might sound weird but... those clothes were the first nice thing I ever owned. Growing up without parents, on the street, I never really got to own things. There was just stuff I could get away with using. But after I hooked up with Roman, that was his gift to me, something to make me feel like less of an urchin."

She could see that Ciel was having a little difficulty choosing her words. "I'm sorry. Maybe this is presumptuous. You don't have to explain yourself. But... I thought you were no longer fond of Roman? Why does his gift mean so much to you?"

"Yeah, Roman is kind of a scumbag," she signed with a little chuckle. "But in this case, those clothes don't make me think of him, exactly. You can't really be yourself living on your own, not owning anything, not having any direction, just surviving. Having something that was just mine, only for me, that was the first time I really understood who Neopolitan was. Maybe it's shallow, but the clothes really do make the woman in my case."

"It would be rude of me to judge you. I can't know what it was like for you, to put that outfit on for the first time. If it makes you feel more like yourself, then I just have to be certain I give this repair job my very best." Ciel smiled brightly at her, and perhaps for the first time Neo actually felt like Ciel was more than just an acquaintance or a team member. Not that she would dare ruin things by admitting as much. But she thought it, and that was enough for now.

* * *

The people at the hobby store knew Ciel by face and name despite the fact that she couldn't have been in Vale for that long. It was dorky, and maybe kind of sweet. But mostly dorky.

"Oh, Ms. Soleil! Are you here for more thread already? I know they work those students at Beacon pretty hard, but you were only here a week ago!"

"No Eunice, thank you. I'm actually helping my teammate this time." Granted, Ciel had a way of talking like an old woman sometimes. But in this moment, Neopolitan actually forgot for a second that she and her captain were the same age. She could have passed for a youthful grandma.

"Oh what a sweet young girl you are. If only everyone your age could be so considerate. Well, take your time and let me know if you need anything~"

The two girls stepped down an aisle and immediately poor Neo felt utterly overwhelmed with the realization that the world of mending clothing was much more intense than she ever would have imagined. Special scissors, various kinds of needles, thread in colors she didn't even know existed. "Hmmm, so we'll need white thread... dark brown... And some of this pink here."

Neo stopped her as she went for the third color, reaching for a different one a few spools over. "If we're doing this, we're doing it right. The shade of pink needs to be perfect." She held it up to her hair for reference before passing it back to her with a little nod.

Out of all the silly things that she'd done to make Ciel stumble or blush or go goofy, she never would have expected that one-upping her on color theory would be the thing to trip her. But the poor thing was actually blushing a little as she took the third spool from her, quickly turning away and moving further down the aisle. "Uh, and probably also something to polish up your corset and those boots. As you say, we ought to do it right."

* * *

A shared interest in sartorial finery probably shouldn't have been enough to affect either of them. But Neo could definitely detect a hint of something new as she and Ciel made their way toward the CCT center. Their chatter was both more animated but also came in starts and stops. Ciel's face was tinged with more red.

However, Neopolitan's theory about all of this shifted somewhat when the two of them sat down at a terminal and called up the girl's parents. She was starting to think that maybe at least a part of her embarrassed awkwardness was having someone see the vast difference between herself and the people who spawned her.

Sure, you could see the similarities here and there – dark skin and blue hair and those little forehead markings. But everything else about them was so stark. "Heeeyyyy there's mama's little baby~!" Ciel's mother looked quite a lot like her, only with longer more unruly hair and much looser clothing.

"Glad to see you are not dead, _beta_. Still, we heard about the trouble with your communications out there and knew we might not hear from you in a while." Her father was even more of a conundrum, a mountain of a man with an impressive belly. But it was clear from one look at him in his floral shirt and home-made jewelry that he was basically a big teddy bear. "Is this the robot girlfriend you were telling us about? She's a cute one."

"Oh my god, I'm meeting your parents before Penny is? Ciel, she's going to be so upset." Neopolitan knew there was no reason to dig in like that, but she couldn't help herself. And judging by the look of confusion on their faces, Ciel's parents didn't know sign language like she did.

"Uhh, ahah... No, you guys, this is Neopolitan. Penny's the one with red hair and green eyes." Yep, her face was burning hot now.

Her father roared with laughter, slapping his knee. "Riiiight right! The criminal! Nice to meet ya young lady." He finally seemed to connect the dots to her hand motions and foolishly brought his hands up to his mouth, talking louder now. "Nice. To. Meet. Yoouuuu."

The poor girl covered her face in embarrassment, groaning shamefully. "She's mute, not deaf, we've been over this..."

Giggling, Neo finally decided to give her a break and retrieved her scroll to type out a message they could hear. "Nice to meet you too, mama and papa Soleil. Don't worry, we're taking good care of your daughter, and mostly keeping her out of trouble." The two on the screen were both chuckling now, and Neopolitan had to admit that it felt good to be on nice terms with someone's parents. That was a new sensation.

"Okay well anyway it was good talking to you too and now that the CCT is back up I'll be sure to call more often and I love you and goodbye!" Ciel quickly shut down the feed and turned back to Neo with a hangdog expression. "Can we go get food now?"

* * *

"Say the words again, because I'm finding it really hard to believe," Neopolitan signed as she sat down across the table from Ciel.

Ciel sighed and hastily took one of the paper bags from her, dragging it across the table and opening it up. "I've never had a burrito. How is that so hard to believe? Vacuo and Atlas both have climates that aren't really good for creating popular, interesting foods. I've always been content with simple foods."

"Sister, there is no food more simple than the burrito. You just toss a bunch of perfect ingredients inside and wrap her up tight. It's compacted delight." Neo unwrapped a portion of the foil and dug in.

Ciel followed her lead, about to take a bite before looking back across the table at her warily. "You made sure they didn't put any onions on this right?"

"Yes, dude, I know, you're allergic. I gotchu." One of the things about being non-verbal that Neo kind of enjoyed was the fact that she could talk with her mouth full and it wasn't rude. Very few people could say that.

Ciel shrugged and finally chowed down like a normal person. You could instantly see the change in her face as she took a few more healthy bites, causing Neo to chuckle softly. "Sorry for doubting you. I'm always so paranoid about my throat closing up and suffocating. I prefer being able to breathe..."

"Hey, you don't have to worry about anything. Me and Em, we got your back. We turned on everyone who ever meant anything to us. It's just us now, and that means you're our new family, like it or not. And we look after family. Okay?" Neo hadn't meant to get quite so serious, and Ciel clearly hadn't been expecting it either.

Finally her smile bloomed after a moment or two and they went back to eating their burritos in peaceful silence.

* * *

When they got back to the dorm, Emerald and Penny were out. Not in a mood to do actual homework, Ciel sat down with her impromptu sewing kit and Neo's clothing on the floor. Neopolitan sat down next to her, getting comfortable and watching as she did her magic. Unlike the others, Ciel really did not talk unless she felt it was necessary. It was oddly comforting, as was the visual imagery of her slender hands working the needle over and over again, closing up each of the tears and fractures in the cloth.

She wasn't an idiot. Neopolitan knew exactly what was happening. Aside from hanging out as a team, she'd spent one day with her team captain and was already developing a big stupid crush on her. This was nothing new. She'd already gotten her idiot feelings for Emerald. And then she had made a drunken comment about wanting to get into a fight with Yang so she could climb her 'like a tree' whatever that meant. And now she was being just as easily swayed by someone who was, frankly, far too good for her. Sure, those nerds in RWBY could make that kind of thing work.

But Neopolitan wasn't a good person. She had ended up at this school because she was undeniably bad. And no amount of heroics could actually change that. People like her didn't really matter, but she was a part of this team now, and if she could at least be good back-up for real heroes like Penny and Ciel, then that would be good enough.

"You're quiet..." Ciel mused thoughtfully. Neo shot her a 'no shit' look, and she just chuckled softly. "You know what I mean..."

"Just trying to think of a good way to pay you back for all this. Fixing my stuff and all." It felt like a good lie, a safe lie. The kind of lie that was essentially true.

Ciel just shrugged, not even losing the pattern in her stitching when she glanced to see what Neo was signing. "You didn't really have to put up with me today. But we hung out like regular teens and it was... nice. Got to see my parents briefly. Had a burrito for the first time ever. Besides, like you said, we're family... You don't keep score with family..."

Neopolitan hummed softly in agreement. That had never been her experience with family before. But she could get used to it. "Whatever you say, Sunny."


	5. The History of Me is Incomplete

Ciel yawned, stood on the edge of the cliff, and looked out over the vista before her. The Emerald Forest was beautiful, especially in the morning. The... very early morning. Classes had been going well, but apparently the faculty was discussing things behind the scenes and determined that team CPNE needed to at least go through a truncated version of the trial that everyone else had endure when they first arrived.

So here they were, the four of them, along with Ozpin, Goodwitch, and Schnee. The headmaster sipped at his coffee and reviewed some information on a tablet he was holding. "The idea is the same. Those panels will catapult you into the woods. You must land successfully, locate your teammates, get to the other end, and retrieve the relic. You will doubtless encounter Grimm along the way and it is up to you to determine when to fight and when to press on. Ms. Soleil, it will be your job in particular to ensure that everyone in your team works as one and you make it back here safely. There is no grade for this exercise, there is no judgment. It is a trial by fire, and you either succeed or you do not."

"Yeah, when you say 'land successfully'...?"

Emerald didn't get to finish her question as the panels flipped upward, vaulting the four of them into the sky on slightly different trajectories. Ciel watched with some small amount of pride as Neopolitan opened her parasol to slow herself, Emerald utilized the chain on her weapon to swing between trees, and Penny fired off the jet boosters from her blades, each of them reaching the ground with presumed safety. Ciel slowed her timestream and landed as gently as a leaf, immediately looking around to try and determine where the others would have landed. She couldn't call for them as that might alert a Grimm. So she would have to seek them out quietly.

She drew her weapon with the gun barrel constantly swaying in the direction of even the slightest sound. The hour was early and the forest was dead silent. Ciel forced herself to slow her breathing, certain that a single wrong move could easily spell death. That was when she heard a commotion not too far away and rushed to see what it was. Go figure Neopolitan was the one making so much noise. Ironic, but fitting.

Her teammate had the misfortune of landing right next to a beowulf who she was presently leaping at to kick in the face, then spinning mid-air to bash it with her parasol. The weapon remained shockingly dense and Ciel could never quite correlate that idea.

Before she could even get a shot off, the Grimm was already down on the ground taking a well-deserved coma and Neo was brushing her hands with a confident chuckle. "Hey Sunny. Thanks for all the help back there."

Things had been... odd lately with Neopolitan. Ever since their excursion into the city of Vale to get supplies for clothing repair, she had been acting strangely. Ciel had never had a perfect grasp of human interaction, and this was even more confusing. She was as cheeky as ever, but something in her mannerisms felt kinder lately. Ciel had simply put it down to a growing familiarity between everyone in the team. So why did their interactions stick out to her so much more?

"You seemed to have the situation well in hand. It would have been rude to interrupt."

"True. You can't cut in when the waltz is only half over. But I'll make sure to add you to my dance card," she signed with a wink. Again, it was puzzling. What Ciel normally took to be simple jokes, she now wondered if perhaps they were something else, like veiled truths. But that kind of thing was for someone with better social awareness to figure out. She was mostly focused on being a good leader.

* * *

Despite Ciel's best intentions, they had to fight through more than a few creeps and a few other beowulfs before they found anyone else. But she had to admit, there was also some method to the professors' madness. They hadn't really fought Grimm before, at least not as a team. Just as she had seen during the tournament, Neopolitan had a surprisingly good handle on playing the forward role against enemies. She moved fast and hit hard, and her parasol was basically indestructible. And with careful use of Dust and her semblance, Ciel provided plenty of cover fire to make life difficult for any monster unlucky enough to cross their path.

Suddenly, an ursa came flying through a tree nearby, pushed along by a massive green beam that Ciel couldn't help but smile at the sight of. Naturally, Penny could look after herself. A moment later, she came flying through the underbrush, swords swirling in massive arcs and cutting the bear down flawlessly. "My friends! I am glad to have found you! This forest is beautiful, but full of dangers. Oh, but Emerald isn't with us? We must locate her and get to the relic."

Neopolitan snickered and nodded. "Yeah, she's useless without me."

* * *

It was instantly clear how much more efficient they were with Penny around. The lesson was probably somewhat on-the-nose, granted. But even running into an entire nest of creeps posed absolutely no issue for the three of them together. Ciel had never considered herself much of a combatant, and even after achieving success during the Vytal Festival, she still knew that her fighting abilities weren't as great as her peers. However, when she had others around to carry the weight, it was that much easier to think and plan.

Just as they escaped from the area where the nest was, they heard a massive crashing sound and found Emerald in the midst of her own fight. She had a beowulf wrapped up in the chain of her weapon and she was throwing all her might into swinging it around like a flail, slamming it into a cliff wall. She turned and saw them approaching and gave a cheerful smile. "Hey, I appreciate the audience, but this bugger is giving me some trouble. Do you mind?" She grunted with effort as the Grimm struggled against the chains and she withdrew them before they broke.

As it swung for her with its massive claws, Penny jumped in and blocked the attack with her circle of swords before launching all of them into its chest and pinning it to the ground where it dissolved in a mass of black goop. "Salutations, Emerald! I hope you were not having too much trouble without us."

"Nah, I was doing fine until this uppity jerk decided to become more trouble than he was worth."

"Strange, Neopolitan said that you would be "useless" on your own..."

"I was being facetious!" Neo stopped signing suddenly, a look of shock crossing her face. "Okay I'm clearly spending too much time around you people if I'm using words like 'facetious'. Ugh, kill me..."

Emerald clapped an arm around her shoulders, laughing brightly. "It's our penance, dear. The price we pay for our wayward past."

* * *

Finding the ruins actually turned out to be relatively easy. Based on the position of the sun and a general idea of where the ruins were, Ciel knew where they needed to go.

The trouble, unfortunately, was in the shape of a king taijitu Grimm. A massive snake, but instead of a tail, there was another snake. In some way, the poetic part of her mind knew that this was oddly karmic. Two beasts of opposing colors, stuck together, that had to work as one in order to survive. But Ciel was less worried about poetry and more concerned with living to tell the tale afterwards.

She also knew that this was ultimately her time to shine. Yes, they could no doubt make it through this fight by the skin of their teeth. But she deeply believed that with clever strategy, they could do more than simply get by. The massive snake hadn't seen them yet, which meant they had a chance to get the drop on it.

"Penny and Emerald, I need the two of you to work together. Emerald, distract it with illusions, and Penny, you boost her. Get it to wrap itself around and around the pillars. Neopolitan, they'll be needing you on defensive duty. If either head catches on, I want a wall between it and them. If things get dire, I'll provide some time bending and cover fire to give you all the edge you need. Those fangs can pierce steel, so don't play any games. Have each others' backs. Team CPNE can do it." Surprisingly, everyone just nodded and got to work. For some reason, Ciel still expected her teammates to give her some measure of push-back. But they really did trust her judgment. It was a startling experience.

Penny and Emerald fired off their semblances as one, and while Ciel couldn't see it, she could still witness the effect as both ends of the snake roused and started sliding off in different directions to investigate something encroaching on its territory. She and Neopolitan stood nearby, weapons at the ready, prepared to move and shift tactics if need be.

She hadn't accounted for the fact that the pillars they were working with were finely aged and rather brittle. As the taijitu realized its predicament, it began coiling and uncoiling its myriad muscles and the pillars crumbled to dust. "Damn... That's alright, they still haven't-" Just as she was about to mention the fact that they were still incognito, both heads turned simultaneously to look in their direction. "Damn! O-Okay uh...!" The four of them had to dodge out of the way as the twin maws fired out and snapped at them. Ciel threw up her hands and brought the snake Grimm to a crawl. "Em! Neo! Pick a head and split up, get this thing pulling in opposite directions!"

They did as commanded and, with only a nod of communication between them, ran off creating as much of a distraction as they were able.

Still holding the Grimm, even as her nose began to bleed, she looked over at her partner. "Penny! Full charge on your beam cannon, cut it in half!"

Penny drew her swords and swung them around in a circle as the green ball started to glow in the center. "Exactly in half? That kind of precision may not be possible..."

"Just eyeball it, we don't have to do this perfectly..." Ciel grimaced as her power began to fade and the snake started fighting itself more viciously to attack one of the two pests invading its personal space.

"O-Oh! Of course, sorry..." A bright green glow filled the area and the taijitu was severed.

Ciel released her hold on it, suddenly passing out as green faded to black.

* * *

When she came to, Ciel found herself lying in the middle of the ruins with her head resting in Penny's lap. Emerald and Neopolitan were nearby, and all three of them were watching her with serious concern. "Ciel Soleil, you gave us all quite a fright!"

"Yeah, what the hell, kid? I know we all appreciate the backup you gave us, but we're not really gonna make it very far if our captain collapses because she was overloading her damned semblance!" Emerald was being harsh, but Ciel knew it was from a place of love. Or at least... something resembling love.

"I swear, I'm gonna cover you in bubble wrap if I have to." Neopolitan's eyes looked a little bit misty, and again, somewhere in the back of Ciel's mind, she had a few questions. But now was most definitely not the time.

Ciel groaned as she sat up, her head pounding but otherwise unharmed. "Thanks, everyone. It was foolish, I know. But I didn't want to give you such dangerous orders and not be prepared to help you." She noticed that Emerald was holding something and nodded at it. "Did we find our uh... relic?"

She held it up with a satisfied smile. "Yeah. A black bishop. Not sure why, but it feels... right. Appropriate." Emerald passed it off to her and Ciel hefted it in her hand for a moment or two.

"Yes. It feels... fitting."


	6. Deliver Me From My Friends

Emerald hadn't been able to swipe her entire bar when they moved to Beacon, but she had at least managed to hide away a few bottles of the more choice material for a special occasion. This felt like a special occasion, or at least a dire enough one that she needed to share a drink or two with her partner. So she gathered up a bottle of some particularly strong Mistral wine, two plastic cups, and Neo, before dragging her out into the nearby hills to get some alone time. Neo was naturally suspicious, but not so much that she didn't still drink the fine liquid.

Truth be told, Emerald wasn't looking forward to doing this either. But all that stuff that went down in the forest made it clear that something was off with Neopolitan. And the only way that CPNE was going to reach optimal teamwork was if they didn't hide things from one another. But it wasn't her place to out her partner immediately, so she would have to talk through it with just Neo first.

Quietly they each sipped wine from their plastic cups, admiring the beautiful sky and the clouds floating by. Emerald knew she could only put this off so long and she sighed. "So, you actually gonna tell her or just keep burying it deep down inside? Cuz either way you gotta make a decision soon. We did okay out in the forest, but I could see that you were way too focused on one team member over the others."

Neo huffed and took a long gulp from her cup before setting it aside, signing in frustration. "What are you talking about? We did fine!"

"You were practically crying because Ciel over-worked her semblance for five seconds! You keep sneaking glances when you think no one's looking. I'm just asking you to own up to it and do something with it." They glared at one another for a while. It wasn't like this was new for them. They had fought before. But this was a new topic, that was for damn sure.

Finally Neo gave a soft sigh, her head hanging. "I mean, what am I supposed to do? You can't honestly expect me to bury it deep inside and just not think about it?"

"No, shit, of course not. But why not just talk to her about it? We already know Ciel is open to the possibility of having more than one special person in her life."

"Because that shit only works for decent, good people. The reason those other girls can do it is because they're not awful – they love one another equally and they don't worry about jealousy all the time. If I tried to do something like that, it would probably crash and burn."

Emerald sighed softly and shifted closer, pouring both of them some more wine. "Oh come on. First of all, that kinda crap doesn't have a moral center to it. I have no doubt that there are shitty people that consensually date multiple people. And even if that weren't the case, are we really still kidding ourselves? We're not bad." Em sipped slowly at her wine, staring out across the open land at the horizon. "Not sure we ever were. Desperate, maybe, and in need of shelter and all that shit. I'm not saying it didn't have moments where it was fun. But I could say the same thing about being here with all these losers."

Neo gave as dramatic a sigh as she was able and drained her own glass much more quickly. "Okay, so we're not bad. But you know what I mean. I'm-"

"I fucking swear, if you call yourself a street rat I'm gonna haul back and deck you. We're heroes and huntresses now. We fight together with them. Hell, I'd say we're friends. So what's the problem?" Emerald knew she was really starting to press her luck now, but she was getting legitimately frustrated with Neo. This was the same girl who seemed to always do everything she wanted with a cocky swagger and a cockier smile. Nobody understood her and nobody needed to. With a change of costume she could be or do anything. And now she was freaking out over some bookworm?

There was a break in the conversation as Neopolitan stewed and pouted for a moment. "It's because I'm clearly not good enough. Okay? Penny makes sense with her – robot and nerd. It also makes sense that she'd be into Weiss or Blake. But what's she gonna do with me, huh? There's nothing wrong with us fighting together because we do it well. But beyond that? It doesn't make sense..."

The wine was good, really damn good, and it broke Emerald's heart to have to ruin it. But obviously Neopolitan needed a wake-up call. She took her partner's cup from her hand and chucked it aside before crawling over and laying on top of her. Em hovered with her lips just an inch or two away, looking into her eyes almost sadly. "It's not like we make sense all time. Love, hate, any emotion... it's not always gonna make sense, it just happens. You think someone's attractive and next thing you know..." Emerald pushed in, locking lips with Neo, vaguely aware of the insanity in trying to convince her girlfriend to hook up with another woman.

They continued to kiss for a while, and Em started to get lost in it just as she was sure Neo was too. Finally the girl beneath her wriggled slightly, breaking the kiss and tugging her arms free. "What about you? This feels unfair. You should hook up with Penny or... or that Nora girl! Something..."

Emerald just shrugged and kissed her briefly again. "Not interested. I'm a one-woman kinda girl. And the one woman I care about is looking wistful and sad. So I'll do what it takes to make her happy. Whaddya say, just go and talk to her. And if it goes poorly, well, you know I'll be right here, ready to catch you." Just to make her point that she was serious, Emerald stood up and playfully kicked Neopolitan in the shoulder. "Now get to it. The more you delay the harder it gets."

* * *

It didn't really help matters any that when they returned to the room, Ciel and Penny were snuggled up together. Nor was it particularly fun having to pry Penny away and convince her to leave based on an obvious and thinly-veiled lie.

The android was definitely developing more human tendencies all the time. Because as soon as they had put some distance between themselves and the dorm, Penny stopped in place, crossing her arms and looking suspiciously at her. "It is only the two of us now, Emerald. We are a team, surely you can tell me the truth."

It wasn't as if this was a catastrophic event that they had to keep a lid on. But it still felt weird to explain this when their teammates were elsewhere. "Uh, well, Neopolitan spent that day on the town with Ciel a while back. And since then, she's been kinda..."

Penny nodded sagely, hand on her chin. "Ah. Another has fallen under the hypnotic sway of Ciel. She is truly a mystery."

Emerald opened her mouth to say something snarky before realizing that Penny kinda had a point. Even if she didn't understand, she couldn't deny the results. She had, in her brief time at Beacon, attracted the attention of at least four girls. Just because she didn't fit the archetype didn't make it any less true. "Hah, yeah, yeah she really is."

"Oh! We should go back! If they are discussing this, then we ought to be by their sides." Penny bounced ever so slightly, as she had a tendency to do when excited. "It involves us."

"Really? What if it doesn't, I dunno, go well? I'd feel awkward."

Penny shrugged, clasping her hands together in front of her. "Well... The way that I see it, if the worst were to happen, then they would both feel bad about it for different reasons. And we might as well be there since our presence cannot surely make things any worse. But if I am being honest Emerald, I do not think we need to worry. I know that Ciel can be quiet, shy. But she is also in possession of a large heart. She draws others to her, and she welcomes them all." Penny motioned for Emerald to return to the dorm room, approaching the door slowly, and casually opening it back up.

"Penny, Emerald, is that you? Um, you may as well come in here. Neo is having difficulty conversing."

With a sigh, Em made her way into the dorm and went over to where the others were sitting on the couch. She perched herself on the arm next to Neo, wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders. Penny trailed after her and sat down on the floor in front of Ciel, smiling patiently as ever.

"Uhh, this might be my fault... I was pushing her to have this conversation, and maybe she wasn't ready..."

Finally Neopolitan raised her hands and began nervously signing. "No, you were right. I need to just do this. I'm not exactly thrilled to complicate things here but... Well, Ciel you're awesome. You're a great leader and a shockingly kind person. Stronger than you give yourself credit for, smarter than you'd ever admit, and cute as hell." Emerald could see the smile starting to spread on her face and smirked in response. She seemed to be finding her footing again. "I know you've already got three different people vying for your attention. But if you don't mind a fourth, I'm here..."

Ciel looked shocked and her face was glowing. She looked from Penny to Emerald, grinning now. "Thank you both for your help. Um, I-I think you can head out for a while if you'd like. Perhaps we can watch a movie tonight as a team."

Emerald hopped up and hooked an arm around Penny, directing her toward the door. "You got it, Sunny. We'll give you too some, uh, space." She offered a charming wink for Neo before disappearing into the hallway, the door shutting behind them. "C'mon, Robo-Penny. I seem to recall we still have an entire checklist of human things you need to experience. I'm thinking... dancing."

"Oh! I quite enjoy dancing."

"I mean dancing in a club. It's nothing like going to a school party, trust me."

* * *

It was, Emerald reflected, strange how differently people reacted to certain situations. Neopolitan had been rendered temporarily incapable of speech by Ciel, in part because the two had a budding romance.

Emerald had absolutely no qualms about hanging out with Penny, watching as she analyzed those around her and used the data to become a better dancer, hooking in close to one another, laughing brightly. There was no confusion or misunderstanding here. She had developed a singular romantic attraction and that was enough for her. But she was more than willing to have some shameless fun with her teammate.

Even with only a short time to enjoy themselves, they had grown a bit closer and were laughing still as they made their way back across the city toward Beacon. Penny clutched her hands together behind her back and peered at Emerald with a puckish smile. "So... This is all still rather new to me. Does this mean that we are emulating our friends in RWBY more?"

Emerald just shrugged and smiled back at her. "No, not exactly. You and Ciel, you care about each other deeply. I feel the same way about my girl. But otherwise, I'm not interested in romance with a bunch of people. It's not for me. But... I dunno, I like fun. I like dancing with you. I like fighting alongside Ciel. I like looking at pretty girls. I think that's probably enough for now."

"You are... different, Emerald Sustrai. But I think perhaps that is why I am glad to have you on my team. I will doubtless have many more questions for you in the future."

Emerald chuckled and nodded in approval as they crossed out of the city and back into Beacon proper. She found herself thinking about the joke she'd made when they first moved in. Perhaps pushing their beds together wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.


	7. Just Aluminum

Penny had her first ever nightmare. She did not enjoy it very much.

In the dream, she relived the events of leaving the dance club with Emerald and returning to the dorm. However, rather than merely reclining on the couch together, Ciel and Neopolitan were curled in on one another and kissing quite heavily. Dream-Penny gasped, and Dream-Ciel looked at her over Dream-Neopolitan's shoulder at her with a wicked smile. "I have plenty of real people in my life. I don't need a fake like you anymore."

Penny's eyes shot open. She knew it had only been a dream, she was fully aware what they were, and had enjoyed several pleasant ones. But for some reason, the experience had left her feeling sour, and for just a moment she felt ill when she looked at Ciel sleeping there next to her in the dim light. She was actually... angry at her. The knowledge that those words came from within her own mind was no comfort at all, it just made Penny despise herself as well.

She whimpered and wiped at her face, finding that she was actually crying. She inwardly cursed the scientists who had made her so lifelike. Why did she have these feelings? Why did she feel the ache in her heart? Why was she given working tears? This entire thing had started when she developed feelings for Ruby, and since then the complications had only become more... complicated.

Despite her best attempts to be considerate and quiet, Ciel awoke and sat up with a sleepy look. "Penny? Wha...? What's wrong?" Apparently realizing that her partner was feeling poorly, she pushed herself upright more and immediately wrapped her arms around her. "Hey... Hey, it's alright... I'm here..." Her voice was soft and sweet, nothing at all like Dream-Ciel, and it helped to remind Penny that the thing she'd seen was nowhere close to reality. Even if that didn't completely erase the pain.

"It is... nothing. You should go back to sleep."

Ciel shook her head and nuzzled into her gently. "Mm-mm. You're upset. You don't have to tell me about it, but there's no sense in leaving you alone with it."

That kindness only caused poor Penny's crying to return and she hurried to burrow herself against Ciel's shoulder. As promised, they said nothing further for a time, just laying there together while Penny attempted to collect herself.

Technically she had an internal clock, but again, it seemed as though attempts to make her as human as possible even extended to the smallest details. With her emotions on high, she had absolutely no idea how much time was passing since she had woken up. She was not even certain what time of night it was – or time of morning, for that matter. But finally she found the strength to speak. "I had a terrible dream. You were... You had... Well, it was not really you. Of course. But the imaginary you that I had made up? U-Um. You decided that since you had attention from... normal humans, you had no need of me anymore..."

Ciel gripped her a little tighter, though she didn't say anything right away. When she did finally speak, her voice came out as soft as ever. "Some people like to throw the word 'love' around with a rather cavalier attitude. That has never been the case with me. I say it only about my family and the few friends that I have known for years. So I want you to understand how important it is when I tell you that... I love you, Penny." Ciel kissed her cheek softly and helped to wipe away a few of her remaining tears. "I stand by what I told you when this first began. Some may see you still more as an android, others may simply choose to view you as a human. But I continue to adore you because you are more than either. You are Penny, my friend and partner. You helped me to become a better warrior when I had no confidence in myself. You are open and honest and caring. And incredibly cute."

That final line broke the tension a bit and got Penny to actually laugh softly.

The noise either woke their roommates, or was merely the point at which they decided that it was safe for them to make their attention known. "Hey, kids? I never thought I would be the one to say this, but we do have class in a few hours. Are you guys okay?" There was some light rustling from the other side of the room, and Emerald chuckled softly. "Neo says that Penny is a big dumb idiot if she thinks she's gonna get recycled any time soon..."

Ciel rolled her eyes and shared a small smile with Penny. "Well, we're all awake anyway. Perhaps... you two would like to join us?"

There was more shuffling, and suddenly the foot of their bed was occupied by a second cuddly pair. Penny knew that by this point, she should no longer be surprised by the emotions that her other teammates were capable of. But still she felt somewhat surprised to see the veiled looks of concern that Emerald and Neopolitan had for her. "I am sorry for making you all worry about me. This is my first time experiencing a nightmare. It seemed so very real."

Emerald chuckled softly, hugging Neopolitan a little closer. "Yeah, those things will mess you up good if you're not careful. But most of the time, they don't mean anything. It's just your brain being a jerk. You're awesome and Ciel is crazy about you. I guess we all are, in our own way. So don't even stress."

Sharing one last look, Penny and Ciel opened their arms and beckoned the other two closer. Despite the relatively small size of the bed, they obliged. Neopolitan and Emerald happily shifted up and nestled in between them, and they wrapped their arms around, linking their hands together. "We should rest now. As you say, Emerald, we have class tomorrow."

"Yeah yeah, don't remind me. When did I get so responsible...?" Emerald said in between yawns.

* * *

"Next, Team CPNE. Remember, girls, you can only do what your team leader tells you to. Miss Soleil, you can only issue orders. This is about tactical teamwork and leadership. You're at your strongest when you work together."

The four girls _yawned_ as a team, at any rate. Despite their best attempts, no one was able to fall asleep last night. Professor Schnee called forth a large glyph and three ursai major appeared. They all braced themselves and looked back at Ciel for orders. The ursai, too, seemed to be waiting for orders from Winter, effectively forming a team of enemy combatants.

Penny wished that Ciel was allowed to actually join them in the fight. It felt as though a limb had been severed. But she could only give them orders, no more, no less. That meant no time dilation and no helpful cover fire. Still, Ciel was smart, and Penny trusted her to make the right calls. She glanced back at her partner and smiled encouragingly. Ciel seemed to snap out of whatever deep thought process she was going through and smiled back.

"These are ursai major. They're not going to be as easy as we're used to. Penny, you need to take the one there on the right. Hold nothing back, we need to thin out their numbers. If you feel yourself losing energy, don't be afraid to say so. Emerald, Neopolitan, work together to keep the other two busy. Take simple hits and pot-shots when you can. But don't get too flashy. This might take us a while and we need to conserve ourselves." Everyone drew their weapons and adjusted their stances.

"Ready? Go!" With a word from Winter, the bears launched into action.

As ordered, Penny immediately threw herself into the melee to take one of the bears away from the others. She could hear clashing nearby from where her teammates were keeping a tight rein on the two other ursai. Just like Ciel, Penny knew that they could handle themselves. But she also knew they were only human and eventually they would need help. She did not have time to linger here very long. "Captain! Permission to activate beam canon?"

Ciel grinned. "Permission granted, huntress."

Penny drew her swords in a tight circle, going for a more focused shot as she had done with giant snake Grimm in the woods. The ursa was coming at her but the canon wasn't fully ready yet. "Penny! Dodge!" The words hit her so naturally and the command was so simple, she had no trouble moving out of the way of its attacks, giving her the needed edge to gather the remaining necessary energy and fire the beam directly up the center of the beast, slicing it in half as it dissolved into white mist. "Good! Get in there and help the others! Just remember you won't be able to use your cannon for a time!"

The swords came back and began swirling around her body in a dangerous vortex as she went to the next ursa.

"Em, chains! Penny, pincushion!" Again, the commands came so fluidly and it felt easy to follow them. Penny knew that could be dangerous in the wrong circumstances, but her faith in Ciel was restored, if not bolstered, since last night. As ordered, Emerald distracted the Grimm that she had been fighting with illusions, though Penny could only see the way its gaze followed some unseen source. It turned its back on them, and Emerald quickly lashed out to surround it with her chains. With a mighty tug, it was yanked down onto its back, leaving it vulnerable for Penny to drive her swords into its chest until it, too, dissipated.

A sudden cry of distress from Neopolitan caught their attention, and Penny turned just in time to see her come flying at them. She gracefully caught her in her arms, earning her a grateful smile. She set Neo down to her feet, and while she was a bit shaky, she was at least upright. Despite their best attempts, the third ursa was still looking pretty healthy.

That was when the most shocking thing happened. Ciel's next command... "It's time! Mindfuck!" All the gathered students gasped, but Neopolitan and Emerald couldn't have looked more pleased with themselves. "Everyone, combine your semblances. Neo, surround the ursa, keep it trapped. Penny, provide support. Em... do it..."

Penny retrieved her blades and returned them to her back. The others sheathed their weapons as well so they could focus all their energies on the beast. She extended a hand toward her teammates, the strings providing them with the boost they needed. Neopolitan started building barrier after barrier around the ursa, taunting it and goading it into striking, only for the Grimm to discover it was like trying to break diamond.

The ursa was starting to go mad in its new cage, lashing out in all directions and finding itself trapped. That was when Emerald got to work, trying out a new strategy they had been developing. The theory was sound enough. If her semblance was capable of creating illusions within a person's mind – to the point that they could see, hear, even feel them – then with Penny's help she could take that a step further. If she could overload the mind with enough stimuli, if she could convince the target that they were dead, would they actually die?

Penny couldn't be certain, only watching from the outside, but the ursa was certainly in pain. Its paws went up to grasp futilely at its head. Finally, it let loose one last, deafening roar before a wave of energy radiated off its skull, practically an explosion, and it collapsed. As it disappeared, Neopolitan took down the walls of her semblance, all three of them running to give Ciel a big group hug. "That was amazing!" Penny cried.

Winter adjusted herself slightly now that the fight was concluded, looking the four of them over. "Well, you certainly have a surprisingly fine grasp of teamwork. Your... command terms could use some alteration, though. I must admit, I'm surprised, Miss Soleil. I hadn't expected language from one such as yourself."

"Well..." Ciel coughed nervously. "It's the captain's job to know how to command their team. I... have to be able to issue orders in a timely fashion, using terminology that they are familiar with. Can you truly blame me?"

Their instructor gave another dramatic sigh before turning to look at her sister and teammates. "Team RWBY, you're up next. The no-fighting rule goes double for you, Fall Maiden."

"I don't even know how my powers work! Why does everyone act like I have this amazing edge? I'm still Ruby! I spilled syrup on my skirt, just this morning!"

"It's true, I saw it. She was traumatized..." Ciel said softly as their went back to join the other students, ready to cheer on their friends.

One arm gently looped around Penny's shoulders, another around her back. Penny assumed that it was Ciel, so she was shocked to look and see that it was Emerald and Neopolitan holding her gently as they all recovered from the intense fight. It helped to provide some closure to things, getting closer to the two of them. It was hard to worry too much about Ciel being taken from her when she was just as fond of Neo and Em.


	8. We All Have Taboos

Neopolitan had sort of assumed that, since she and Emerald were just popping into town for a few short errands, it was going to be a quiet day. That had been a foolish assumption.

Granted it started off easy enough. Penny and Ciel were off with the dorks from RWBY, and the two of them were bored enough that getting breakfast in the city sounded like a good time. Ugh, how had they been tamed so easily?

Breakfast really had been delicious, and filling, and wonderful, and all that stuff. But it was also a stark reminder that Neopolitan was running low on lien and needed more. This felt doubly true because she was never sure when someone might suddenly descend from the constabulary to steal all her ill-gotten gains away from her. They might have had someplace to live, and a life to lead. But there was no allowance to go with that. So they mostly had what they brought with them, and what spare change either girl felt comfortable pickpocketing or grifting. But Neo at least had the brilliant thought to put some of her funds in the bank, and since they'd been getting constant morality injections, they just didn't feel right stealing money anymore.

They were standing in line together and shooting the shit, making sure to chat through sign language to avoid pissing anyone off. They had discovered the hard way that sometimes what they considered engaging conversation was not "polite for others to hear". So signing and giggling it was.

"C'mon, you gotta spill at least a few details. I told you how things went with Penny out at the club..."

"Yeah, where all you did was just dance a little. And I'm telling you, all Ciel and I did was hang out on the couch. We kissed like... once..."

"Boring..." Something seemed to catch Emerald's attention and her eyebrows went up. "That, on the other hand, is _not_ boring..."

A cadre of strange-looking people walked in through the front door, and it didn't exactly take much work to put together that their covered faces and poorly concealed weapons meant this bank was about to be robbed. They had precisely ten seconds before the shit hit the fan. Without warning, Emerald lifted Neopolitan into her arms and jumped up to the second level of the bank, hunting down an empty office where they could hide out.

"Okay okay okay..." Emerald started to speak out loud before catching herself and switching back to using sign language. They were officially in stealth mode. "What do... we do? I mean, it wasn't that long ago we were the ones robbing people..."

There were some bangs below and one of the robbers fired off his gun as a warning, and they started herding everyone out of the way. "Alright folks, this should be over quick if you all just cooperate!"

Neopolitan gave her most comforting smile at Emerald. "Yeah, but we have auras and semblances. Even without our weapons, we could take them on no problem!"

"Probably. But they're collecting hostages now, which means we can't just go rick-shit riot. I mean... Well, we could, but I've been developing this nasty habit of having a conscience lately." Em looked embarrassed to admit that, and Neo didn't want to let her feel alone.

"...me too. Stealth it is..." Neo poked her head out of the office and noticed one of the thieves coming toward their hiding spot. "Shit! Got a guy looking for stragglers. What's the plan?"

Emerald just grinned at her, still rooted where she was. "We stay right where we are, and we keep signing. If he finds us, I need you to play the scared deaf girl con. If he doesn't find us, then they're really idiots and this will be easy."

"Are you sure? We can handle ourselves, but the bank was good and busy today. That's a lot of fleshy people to get shot up with bullets if we're not careful..." She took a slow breath and sighed softly. She was the tank. That had been decided some time ago. That meant protecting the people was her job. Emerald could take the charge on distraction and misdirection. "Which means we have to be flawless."

"Hey!" Neopolitan only just remembered that she was supposed to be deaf and kept herself from flinching when the masked gunman walked in on them. "Got two more up here!"

Emerald made a few more signs at her that roughly translated to "Ziggurat ankle nimble fish hook " before turning her attention on the guard. "Please! Please, it's my sister, she's deaf and she was freaking out. I brought her into this office to catch her breath when all the noise started."

The guy came around to get a better look at the both of them, staring hard at her in particular. "Neo? Holy crap, Neo, what the hell are you doing here?"

Gasping, she decided not to give him a chance to let this conversation go any further. From the floor, Neopolitan vaulted up and swung around to the guy's back, hooking her arm against his neck and choking him out until he tumbled to the floor. As she pulled the body away from the windows to hide it under the massive oak desk, Emerald decided to momentarily break the no-talking rule. "What was that?"

"Roman worked with a lot of dudes. My best guess, this guy was one of those disposable third-stringers who worked with me once or twice on missions. Either he was gonna want me to help them, or he was gonna ask too many questions about what I've been up to. I didn't need that... We... didn't need that."

"Okay, well now that one of them is knocked out and hidden under a desk, that puts us on a ticking clock. Someone will recognize their numbers are thin, or they'll find him, and they'll wanna know what's up." Emerald sighed and messed with her hair. "I'm regretting trying to do this."

"Me too... But I think I have a plan..." Slowly, carefully, silently, the girls crept along and found where the other hostages were being held down on the first floor. "Okay so here's the idea. I drop down and join the others. I put up as big a wall as I can to keep them safe and maybe provide them with a chance to escape. While I'm doing that, all you have to do is make your way around the place and trick a few guys into wandering down corridors or shooting each other. Once I get the hostages secured, we can stop holding back and crack some skulls."

In unison, the two of them reached out, gripping the others' head and bringing them together to touch foreheads. "Team Mindfuck..." Neo also stole a quick kiss before gracefully dropping down over the banister. She landed without a sound at the edge of the crowd, the woman next to her about to gasp before she clamped a hand over her mouth, shaking her head. Once it was clear she wouldn't make any more noise, she withdrew her hand and looked back ahead of her. The guards were all distracted with breaking into the vault, and already she could see one lone idiot being tricked down a hallway and off to the side.

Neopolitan took her time, gathering herself, getting centered and focused. She made her way to the front of the group and made a silencing motion to all the hostages before putting up as powerful an illusory wall possible – wide and tall and solid as could be. No one quite understood what was happening except that they were dealing with some kind of hero, perhaps from Beacon.

She knew how to make an escape, though doing so with an entire crowd was another experience entirely. She kept them moving slowly, but steadily, until they came to a back door, a fire exit. Neo went to open it only to be stopped by someone she assumed to be the manager of the place. "That's going to alert them. They'll be coming for you..."

Knowing there was no point in signing or wasting time with her scroll speaker, Neo just nodded before kicking the door right off its hinges and out into the alleyway. She motioned for them to go with a strong pointed finger as if she were dealing with a dog, and they all started filing out. Already, another thief was coming down the hallway to check on the commotion. She ran directly for him, wall-running to avoid gunfire, then closing in with a roundhouse kick to the face. The time for subtlety had most definitely ended.

"Little help?" Emerald just barely managed to yell out as she struggled with one of the other robbers with the gun he was holding.

The only thing around that looked even slightly useful was a crowbar that one of these idiots had left unattended. So Neopolitan grabbed it up and dashed over behind the big lug, bashing him over the head. It wasn't quite enough to knock him out completely but it at least got him to split his attention between them. Something, presumably an illusion, suddenly caused him to look to his right, at which point the real Emerald delivered a heavy punch right at his kidney. More than enough to send him crumpling to the ground, writhing in pain.

Neopolitan felt good for a moment until she heard three more guns cocking behind them. They turned and saw the remaining robbers standing there with rifles trained on them. "Hah, uh, hey there boys... Look, here's the thing. Your captives are gone, your crew is currently down by half, and the cops are undoubtedly on their way right now."

The guy who was presumably their captain suddenly turned on one of his two remaining buddies, aiming at his head, arms trembling. "N-No way! We worked together on this for weeks! If you was a traitor, I'd'a known!"

The dude obviously had no clue what he was talking about, but the sudden spike in tension forced him to raise his own gun in return. "Boss, what're you talking about? I ain't done nothin'!"

Of course now the third schlub was also aiming at the supposed traitor. Emerald couldn't help but laugh. He couldn't hear them now. He was in the middle of his own little imaginary world.

"I'm not going down for this!" the boss-man cried and shot him in the knee. The intention was that this would ultimately defuse the situation. Neopolitan was almost certain that her idea was not to set off a bomb of misunderstanding as the three remaining robbers started to all fire on each other. The girls dove for cover as Neo threw up a barrier for them to hide behind, waiting for it all to die down.

That was when they heard the sound of approaching alarms. "Shit..." was all Emerald muttered. Neo glanced over at her, surprised to see just how shaken she appeared.

* * *

"Thank you, girls. I'll be sure to contact your professors about this. I'm sure you'd like for them to know what a good thing you did here today." The detective made a few more notes on their scroll before closing it up and pocketing it.

Neopolitan really didn't want that. She wasn't sure she necessarily had any specific reasons for it. Only that she wasn't interested in attention, questions, curiosity, all of that stuff. It wasn't a moral thing, it was just... a need to feel like she could still operate in the shadows sometimes. Neo liked the concept that she was her own person who could make decisions simply because she could. Emerald looked over at her as if asking for her opinion, and Neo quickly shook her head in response.

Em actually looked pleased about that and turned back to the detective. "Um, thanks but we actually uh... We're not really looking for accolades. We just... made a promise recently to actually stand up to awful people."

"Huh, okay... Well, you kids have my number, you can contact me if you need anything. If there's some kind of court case, you may be contacted, yadda yadda." He shrugged and left them to go check in with the other officers on the status of all the robbers.

With everything coming to a close, the girls figured it was probably time to make their exit and get back to school. Neopolitan gave it a little while before deciding to address the strange thing she'd noticed at the end. "Are you... okay?"

"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"That brief gunfight there at the end just seemed to rattle you a little." Neopolitan knew immediately that a deflection like that meant this conversation might not even happen. But she wanted to at least try and engage it anyway.

Emerald was quiet for a moment. "Y'know, I've killed people before. As I'm sure you have. But it sorta feels like I've really been sucked into the cult of heroics lately. I had this moment of terror that me using my semblance would lead to someone being killed. Like if I had just grabbed up one of their guns and shot them down, I could at least still live with that. But I was legitimately terrified of doing it accidentally." She gave a rather long, drawn-out sigh. "Am I losing my edge?"

Unable to help herself, Neopolitan chuckled softly and gently bumped hips with her, making Emerald momentarily stumble as she started to laugh along. "Dude, we just stopped a bank robbery with zero casualties, and then didn't take credit for it. We have surpassed edges. We have transcended badassery. We're gonna be huntresses, after all..."

"Mmm, I like the sound of that. Thanks, Neo" she mused, leaning over to quickly plant a kiss on her temple.


	9. Our Life is Just One Big Pun

"Honestly, I would say your story was more or less coherent right up until the end there." Ciel looked over her two teammates with a careful glance. "I can believe that you stopped a bank robbery, but I can't figure out what would possess you to keep it silent. It would be a big help for your reputation, and it would probably go a long way to keeping Professor Schnee off your backs."

Emerald just gave a blasé shrug. "Because that's not why we did it. And... hell, I don't know, maybe I kinda like everyone assuming we're still gutter trash. Keep expectations low so we can shock the hell out of them when it really counts."

"Still! You have done something incredibly good, and I believe that calls for some manner of celebration." Penny clapped excitedly, bouncing up and down. "Surely we can manage some kind of party?"

Neo sighed softly, and already Ciel could feel the rejection coming. "A party is sorta the same thing as getting recognition from the cops or the administration. Look, we did something good just because we wanted to, and I know that all I really care about is having that for my own private enjoyment. Nothing more, nothing less." She paused for a moment as that easy smile of hers began to return. "Still... I guess if you wanted to treat us to dinner 'just because'... I wouldn't say no to that."

"Huzzah!" Penny cried, resuming her excited bouncing.

* * *

True to their word, Emerald and Neopolitan never claimed responsibility for their heroics. The news could only report that a pair of students from Beacon had been the ones to take down the would-be robbers. Ozpin and the other professors asked around a few times, but the girls never came forward, and Ciel and Penny didn't have the heart to reveal the truth. Not even when two of the boys from Team CRDL said that they were the ones who saved the day. Their teammates would just laugh in private about how pathetic it was.

Ciel was having a great deal of trouble understanding at first, but finally she felt like she was beginning to see. Em and Neo were private people who had no interest in the public eye. They had switched sides with relative ease because they weren't really bad or good at heart. They were just chaotic. They did as they pleased, and everyone else could just go to hell. She respected that, and she would keep their secret willingly so long as it made them happy.

Aside from that bit of insanity, things had entered something of a lull. Classes during the week, studying and relaxing on the weekend. They all continued getting to know one another. Even if Emerald insisted she was a one-woman kind of girl, it was pretty clear that she and Penny had really bonded during their trip to the club. Needless to say, RWBY weren't the only ones who could spread the love.

Speaking of which, things reached their natural conclusion when CPNE found themselves on a date with RWBY. But rather than the obvious pairings, things were a bit more complicated than that. Ruby had a lot of things that she wanted to talk about with Penny. Neo showed incredible interest in burying the hatchet with Yang, and Emerald willingly tagged along to help with translation. And that left Ciel to be wooed by both Weiss and Blake. For someone who was completely unused to attention, having two beautiful, intelligent women giving her this much focus was a little overwhelming.

"So, have you been adjusting to Beacon alright? My sister isn't giving you too much trouble, is she?"

Ciel laughed bashfully, rubbing at her neck and looking down at her meal which was going more or less uneaten. "I think we finally reached an understanding with Winter after we ah... caught her and Professor Goodwitch being... close. Which is to say we never talk about it, she respects us, and we don't give her too much trouble. It's a tenuous relationship, but we're making it work."

Blake laughed brightly, tucking a few strands of hair back behind her ear. "Yes, I remember my first proper meeting with Winter was... more than a little terrifying. But once you get to know her, she can be quite an engaging person."

"I doubt it will come as much of a surprise that Em and Neo don't get along with her as well as Penny and I do. But overall she's been a marvelous advisor." She glanced around the table at the others with a wistful smile. "And how are things going with your super secret project that I definitely know nothing about?" While there was supposedly an announcement in the works from various leaders around Remnant, there were plenty of students around Beacon who had already heard at least a little bit about what was going on with the girls in RWBY. After all, quite a few of them had seen for themselves when Ruby was suddenly given the powers of the Fall Maiden. And given that Ciel and her team had a good relationship with them, it didn't take long to hear about Ozpin's master plan.

"Quiet, thankfully," Weiss said with a rather tired exhalation. There was a week or so where all four of them were getting run ragged by their mentors. "So long as the current Maidens are doing their thing, we just have to focus on being totally normal students. Still... I guess we're all kinda nervous, waiting for the other shoe to drop. Y'know, there's a chance that something bad could happen to one of them, and we'd only find out when another one of us suddenly becomes a powerful demigoddess."

Blake nodded in agreement. "Besides, I'd like a chance to be around them for fun instead of training. They have so much to teach us beyond simply how to be a good Maiden."

Once she had managed to chew through a bite of her food, Ciel gave a sympathetic click of her tongue. "I don't envy any of you. Just studying to be a huntress is already a lot to deal with." The unspoken part of this was that Ciel found herself rather intimidated by the other team. They were not merely over-achievers, they were on some other level far beyond that. You could tell just by looking at them, they were going to save the world, without question.

And yet still they seemed almost charmed by her nonetheless. It was baffling. Weiss smiled cheekily at Blake before glancing back at her. "Honestly, I think it's just that we all share the same character flaw. I don't even know what to call it. I won't be happy until everything is okay, which is probably impossible, so... I'm constantly going at a hundred percent, twenty four seven."

"Oh my god, right?" Her teammate gently bumped shoulders with her, chuckling softly. "Remember when I was trying to deal with all that White Fang stuff myself? And you guys had to force me to stop for two seconds? Ugh, it's like a disease."

Something about their reaction struck Ciel as particularly powerful. It hadn't occurred to her before this point that her friends' heroic tendencies would have such major drawbacks. "...so how do you deal with it?"

"The same way we did back then. We watch out for one another, and we keep it honest. If you have to do something dumb, don't do it alone." Blake had just begun a very sage nod when she caught herself, as if only just processing what she'd said. "Oh my goodness, listen to me! Lecturing you like we're not in the same year... Obviously if you find yourself on another path in life, you should follow it. The only thing we can do is... is give our best."

Ciel couldn't help but laugh softly at her sudden fumbling. "No need to feel embarrassed. You've given me a great deal to think about."

* * *

After parting ways with each other in the hallway, Ciel and her team strolled back into their dorm. She yawned into the back of her hand and gave a little stretch. "Strange, how much can happen in a year."

Emerald scoffed as she made her way to her dresser, presumably looking for something to change into. "More like what can happen in a... jeez, a week? A day? Things get crazy around here."

"Still, it is nice to take an evening and enjoy the moments of peace and quiet when they emerge," Penny added cheerfully.

Despite the light attitude of the moment, Ciel still found her mind whirling away. She hadn't even realized she had spaced out yet again until Neopolitan moved in front of her and waved a hand in her face. "You still with us, captain?"

"Ah. I've simply been thinking more on the matter of the bank heist and your desire to keep things quiet." She cleared her throat softly and looked at the other three for a moment. "I believe I finally understand. I realized that I have no interest in being like Ruby and her team. To be so constantly in the spotlight would be... exhausting. I have more in common with you all than I initially realized. And... I'm grateful to be your leader. I am legitimately looking forward to stirring up some chaos in the shadows with you." That had been difficult to get out, but Ciel felt good to have finally said it.

Foolishly, she assumed that would be the end of the matter and turned to locate her pajamas, only to be tackled by a hug from Penny before being subsequently dogpiled by Neopolitan and Emerald. Penny and Neo each pecked her on the cheek while Em ruffled her hair affectionately. "Jeez, nerd, any more of that and you might actually get a tear out of this withered husk of a soul," she added with a low chuckle. "Now get changed so we can watch a movie and snuggle."


End file.
